Internal medicine problems, like digestion, tend to respond to Chinese medicine faster then musculoskeletal issues that are chronic. For example, a simple acute stomachache is typically resolved as soon as needles are inserted into the patient. We’ve also seen mysterious Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms disappear in just one treatment, even more severe issues like Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease respond quickly with a series of consistent treatments and ongoing maintenance.
Here’s an analogy, let’s say you notice a warning light on the dashboard of your car. What would you do? Almost all of us, would make an appointment with our mechanic to fix the issue. That would be congruent with working on the root cause and curing the problem. Some of us, might not have the time to handle it right away, so the warning light stays and soon enough, there is a second warning light. Our bodies are very similar, if something doesn’t get addressed the imbalance gets more complex and new symptoms appear. None of us, would take a piece of tape and cover the warning light, but essentially that’s what we do when relying solely on medications, although it offers quick relief, healing the imbalance, as opposed to masking the symptoms with medication is key in facilitating a cure.
Chinese medicine can facilitate that cure. Acupuncture is a self-regulating mechanism; whatever the body, or digestive system in this case, needs acupuncture will act as a catalyst to make that happen, it creates flow so that healing can occur. If the digestion needs strengthening or harmonizing, or the body needs to decrease inflammation, acupuncture will facilitate it. Chinese herbal medicine partners with acupuncture, but supports the body in a different way, making subtle changes, continuing the work from the big shift or opening that the acupuncture treatment created. Both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine work together synergistically, a meaningful combination of Yin and Yang healing.
Let’s take a closer look at Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the first thing to note is IBS is a coined phrase that actually is less of a diagnosis then it is a description. It’s not exactly an issue of inflammation; otherwise the diagnosis would be more specific like gastritis, diverticulitis or colitis. It’s simply an unknown irritation. And since it’s an irritation or an annoyance that indicates that the body hasn’t created a deeply ingrained pattern yet, this makes it a wonderful candidate for Chinese medicine.
For IBS, acupuncture harmonizes and strengthens the system, in this example, it does this by decreasing the irritation so that the gut microbiome can repair and heal itself. Remember, IBS has massive range, one can have IBS with diarrhea, another IBS with constipation, so since acupuncture is self-regulating, it doesn’t matter what it is, the body will know precisely what to do.
In addition, emotional stress almost always accompanies IBS. With the surprise and inconsistency of IBS, patients can become depressed, have anxiety or a lot of fear. We also see fatigue associated with IBS as well. Thankfully, we can address everything in it’s totality with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.
Let’s discuss another common digestive issue, excessive flatulence. Also known as “passing gas”, intestinal gas or farting. Flatulence is completely normal and can be a sign of healthy gut bacteria, but when it is excessive, it becomes a problem. Fun fact, here’s what makes up a fart– 59% nitrogen, 21% hydrogen, 9% carbon dioxide, 7% methane and 4% oxygen. Only about one percent contains hydrogen sulfide gas and mercaptans, which contain sulfur, and the sulfur is what makes flatulence smelly.
In Chinese medicine if you are experiencing excessive flatulence, it’s possible you suffer from Small Intestine Qi stagnation. Since the Small Intestine relies on Spleen Yang for transformation of food and uses Kidney Yang for its transformation of fluids, one or both of these organs are usually involved as well. A typical treatment plan would involve all three. In addition to those organs systems, the Liver is commonly involved as well because the Small Intestine is impacted easily by anger, which is the emotion of the Liver.
There may or may not be additional symptoms accompanied with Small Intestine Qi stagnation, sometimes low grade abdominal pain, digestive inconsistency and fatigue can occur. Fatigue, in this case, is usually caused by the inability of the digestive system to properly break foods down. In addition to acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, we also incorporate dietary recommendations, one of the most important being to avoid excess cold and raw food. This can cause cold to accumulate in the Small Intestine, which results in pain.
Lastly, let’s a take a quick look at two more severe issues called Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. These are chronic issues in the body with long-term inflammation. In both, ulcers are created in the deeper pockets of the intestines. In UC these ulcers are typically in the colon, where Crohn’s can appear anywhere throughout the intestinal tract.
Where there is inflammation, there is heat and with these two issues—there are lots of it. With acupuncture and some unique Chinese herbal remedies, we can decrease the heat in the intestines, which brings down the inflammation and provides a space for healing to occur. Since UC and Crohn’s are both chronic, this takes time to unwind the issue.
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